A Little Problem (sequel to A Little Help)
by A Scribbler
Summary: Sequel! It's the last week of summer before the twins head back home, and whereas they should be spending it with friends and family, they're suddenly faced with the return of an old friend. But she's on the run and needs help, is someone after her or the size-altering crystals? It's up to Dipper and Mabel to once again solve the mystery, before their luck comes up short.
1. Running into Trouble

**A/N:**

**Yay! The sequel to 'A Little Help' that most of you asked for! XD I hope you like this one! It's set during the same summer as last time so the kids are still 12 years old, but whereas the last one set place at the start of the summer, this one takes place in the last week of summer before the twins have to go home. Roxie makes a return, as does the crystal she stole, but what of the strange things about her that were never fully explained? Will Gideon find out and seek revenge? Will the twins be dragged into a whole new mess of trouble again? Let's wait and see…**

**Note: if you haven't read 'A Little Help' then please read that one first!**

The summer that the Pines twins spent in the 'quiet' town of Gravity Falls, Oregon was not exactly the retreat they'd been expecting. But at least they'd abided by their parents rules and gotten their desired fresh air. But all good things come to an end. The summer months had sped by for the siblings, adventure after discovery, threat after thrill and more. But now, Dipper and Mabel were starting the final week of their summer before their parents came to pick them up. Seven days they had left. And they chose to spend it doing something. That something unfortunately ended up being running for their lives through the heavily wooded area behind the Shack while being chased by a looming figure of which they didn't know the origins of. And why was this little event taking place?

Rest assured there's a perfectly logical explanation…

"Mabel!" Dipper cried frantically as they sprinted side by side, "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" his sister yelled, "I don't even know what that thing is! This is you and you're old books fault!"

"Me? I don't even know what that thing is! How can it be the books fault if I can't even look it up?" It was true, with the speed they were moving, he couldn't risk looking down at the pages for fear of collision or stumbling.

"Well if we don't know, then maybe it's friendly?" she offered.

"Do you really want to take the risk?"

"Well it can't hurt…" Mabel pondered, starting to slow her pace slightly, only to be grabbed by her brother and yanked back into a run.

"No way!" he ordered.

Stealing a glance behind, the shadow looming after them seemed pretty human in shape and size, but no one blended into the gloom like that. And this thing was far too fast, not to mention those noises. Panting from effort of keeping up, a low snarl deep in its throat, there was no way that thing was human. If only he could just get a better look at it. But that would mean slowing down and as much as that would be good for viewing purposes, it wouldn't help him stay alive. So running was by far the best option here. For both of them.

But he was starting to get out of breath, and by the look of Mabel, she wasn't going to keep this up much longer either. He had to think. They needed to get back to the Shack where there might be some way of defending themselves. Or hiding at least. But the Shack was back the other way, he realized, this thing was forcing them deeper into the woods. If they turned now then they'd be heading right for the thing behind them. But, Dipper thought, if it was to get confused for a minute…

"Mabel, you run to the right and circle back to the Shack, I'll circle left and meet you there!" He ordered, planning the route in his head.

"Dipper, I'm pretty sure announcing the plan for scary things chasing us to hear is a _bad_ idea!"

"Then do the opposite of what I just said!" he groaned.

"So we stick together?" she asked, a sly look in her eyes.

He got the message loud and clear, "Yeah… Yeah we'll stick together!" he yelled so that this time there was no doubt the creature could hear them, "We'll stick together in three, two, one… go!"

On his mark, the twins suddenly separated on their respected routes, momentarily confusing the creature and sending it skidding to a stop, unsure of which to follow first. Mabel sprinted right, using a tree to steer herself around and headed off into the shrubs. If she ran far enough this way before turning back to the Shack, it might give her and the thing some space. Dipper followed suit to the left, the two fading from one another's sight. Mabel gritted her teeth as she ran, feeling the thing's heavy footsteps coming closer towards her.

Her hands reached up and grabbed at a branch, bending it awkwardly where it was still attached to the tree. The minute her fingers released it, the wood swung back harshly and smacked against her pursuers face. It stumbled, allowing Mabel to dash away before it gave chase again. By this point she'd already turned again, the Shack within minutes from where she was. Less than that with the speed she was moving at. Not long now, and that thing was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Dipper glanced over his shoulder in horror to see that the creature was gone. Had it given up, or had it gone after Mabel? He wasn't sure, but what he was sure of was that he'd seen Mabel give a large amount of distance between herself and that thing to be safe. He turned again, the Shack not that far away. His legs felt like they were on fire, and his face most likely looked like it had been at some point. But he couldn't bring himself to slow his pace just yet. He was so close he could almost see the Shack's broken sign just up ahe-

"Oomph!"

A patch of damp fallen leaves had made him slip and loose his balance, skidding forward before finally landing heavily on his back. He was not really hurt, just winded and he couldn't quite sit up just yet. He rubbed his head groggily and moved his head side to side. Trees swarmed around him in a near-perfect circle, the sun shining down on the open grass he found himself lying on. A clearing, he figured, I'm in a clearing. He pushed himself up and tested out his legs, wobbly from the running and fall but still alright to stand up on. It was so… quiet.

Dipper felt so lost in the clearing, it was too open, too exposed. Anything could be watching him right now, and it made the hairs on his arms stand on end. However, his supposed paranoia was in fact justified. Before he had a chance to follow his instinct and get out of there to find his twin, a bright pink light washed over him, forcing him to over his eyes. A strange, yet horribly familiar tingling sensation crawled under his skin, an uncomfortable dip in his stomach made him think he was falling, yet his feet remained firmly set on the ground.

When he was finally able to open his eyes, a cry of surprise and horror escaped him as the once patchy grass was now sweeping against his waist, a collection of pebbles now threatened to snap his bones if unlucky enough to fall his way. Dipper backed up a few paces, taking in the how gigantic scene as he registered what had happened. He'd miniaturised. But how? There were no ctystals on this side of the woods! And hadn't they all been destroyed at the start of the summer when he and Mabel had met- Wait, there was still one left. And _she'd _taken it with her! That girl… So that must mean that…

His thoughts were interrupted by a muffled snigger directly behind him. Slowly, with gritted teeth, he turned around and suddenly jolted, falling backwards onto his rear as he gazed up at the observer in awed shock. An inhumanly tall, or rather just human sized yet seemingly inhumanly tall to little Dipper; girl with a wild mess of mousy brown hair and a wicked grin gazed down at him, laying on her front in the grass with head rested on her hands so that she could get a closer look at him. Dipper gaped, unsure if he should be welcoming to the familiar face, or anxious at her mischievous intentions.

"R-Roxie?" he dared, still staying put where he sat.

The girl smirked, amused at his reaction; she arched an eyebrow and gently prodded his chest, "Miss me, Dippy?"

**A/N:**

**Well that was the first chapter, I hope it sparked your interest, don't forget to review and I'll see you guys on the next update! XD**


	2. Reunions

**A/N:**

**Thanks for the great support, what a motivational boost, you guys are awesome XD I just noticed that I forgot to put the code at the bottom of the last chapter. No worries, that'll be fixed right now, from now on at the bottom of each chapter there will be a code in the Atbash Cipher, meaning that A=Z, B=Y …. E=V etc. Have fun!**

Dipper was at a loss for words. Of course he recognised that mass of hair and cocky grin, who else would it be other than Roxie? And it's not like you go and have an adventure of multiple proportions size-wise and go against that little twerp Gideon in the process and forget about it. Memories came flooding back. The day he and Mabel found her being kidnapped by the gnomes, taking her back and trying to figure out why she had been so small and having many arguments in the process… Not to mention being shrunk down himself and stopping Gideon's plans for using the size-altering crystals as a cheesy tourist attraction. Everything returned and hit him full in the face.

But thinking about her question, did he miss her? He opened and closed his mouth trying to both find words and to also cover up how intimidated he felt being this small and vulnerable, "Wh-wh… What're you doing here?"

"Oh that's a charming way to greet an old friend." She scowled, giving him another prod in the stomach.

"Cut that out!" he ordered, "And change me back!"

"Just as boring and panicked as always, Dippy. What, you can't have a catch up with your _bestest_ buddy now?" she cooed, "That hurts…"

Yep, he huffed inwardly, definitely Roxie, taking every opportunity to get on his nerves. He noticed that she had the unfortunately familiar crystal on a chain hanging from her neck. There was a moment of silence, Dipper realising that he wasn't going to get anywhere by force and Roxie smirking at said realisation. Dipper took a slow breath and thought it best to try a different approach.

"So… what brings you back here?" he asked, getting to his feet.

Roxie sighed and rolled over onto her back, feeling the sun on her face and folding her arms behind her head, "Can't a girl come and visit her friends without suspicion?"

He arched an eyebrow and stood on tiptoes to try and see her face, "Well yeah sure; but it's been a while and considering what happened last time we met-"

"Give me a break, Dippy." She sniggered, turning her head to face his miniature stature, "You know, I'm still not sure if I've missed your paranoia or not."

"Well I'm not sure if I've missed your sarcasm or not." He retorted.

Narrowing her eyes, she jokingly reached out and flicked his cap gently, "Actually, I haven't missed it. In fact it's as annoying as ever."

"At least we understand each other." He smirked, to which she returned before looking back at the sky, "Are you planning on changing me back to normal anytime soon?"

"Maybe… maybe not…"

"Oh come on!" he groaned.

Roxie was about to laugh, but something stopped her. She suddenly sat bolt upright and looked anxiously around the woodland as if she could hear something. It was very discreet, but there all the same. It was coming closer. Dipper noticed her eyes widening fearfully and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by having his mouth covered by her fingertip.

"Here's an idea. Fancy going back to yours? I haven't seen Mabel or Soos in forever." She muttered hurriedly, looking off in the opposite direction, "That way right?"

Before he could protest, or even answer either of those questions, Dipper found himself with his arms pinned to his sides and unable to move. Roxie enclosed him in her hand and took off into a sprint, curling her hands over him in a protective dome. She remembered how uncomfortable it was when she was in his position and normally she would have felt nothing in giving him a taste of his own medicine. But she had other things on her mind. So when she ran, she didn't stop.

Dipper gritted his teeth in unease as the world rushed by, bouncing roughly and leaving a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach. What was she running from? Or a who maybe? Gideon? No she wouldn't run from him now that she was human sized. So what was it? Oh great, he'd been talking to her for less than ten minutes and already his brain was hurting from the overflow of questions and speculations. It was almost a blessing when the Shack finally started to appear in the distance. Only then did he start to feel Roxie slowing down and hear her pants of fatigue give way into sniggers of amusement. Or relief.

* * *

Mabel sat on the front step of the Shack, tracing shapes in the dirt with a stick and chewing her hair nervously. Dipper had been gone a long time. Too long, maybe, how long was too long? Her answer was given to her in the form of an unknown figure strolling up the path towards her. She jumped up and started bouncing on the balls of her feet in hopes of getting a better look. But instead of the boyish shape of her brother, this figure was a girl. A familiar girl.

"Oh my gosh! Roxie!" she squealed, darting forward and locking her friend in a tight hug, "You're still tall!"

"Yeah thanks for noticing," she grinned, giving a quick pat on the back for old times, "And I'd kind of like to stay breathing too."

Dipper, who had been perched on Roxie's shoulder, had made a leap for his life as the embrace took place. The only place he could go was up, and he now found himself in the uncomfortable position of being tangled in the waves of Roxie's mousy hair.

"Mabel! Mabel let go and give me a hand here!"

Mabel released her grip and looked around in confusion, "Dipper? I thought he was still in the woods… Did you hear Dipper around here?"

Roxie had already started to pry the boy from the tangles and held him out by the back of his jacket, "Yeah, right in my ear!" She scowled.

The brunette widened her eyes as her miniature brother scrambled in the air desperate for release, "Dipper? Whoa… Wait a minute, do you know how worried I was waiting around here?" she snapped, eyes narrowed. At the deflated look her brother gave her, she huffed, "Roxie you've still got the crystal haven't you!"

"Of course she does!" Dipper cried, "Now do you mind using it!"

"But Dippy, if you get any smaller you'll disappear… Hey that's not a bad idea actually."

Mabel giggled, "Come on, Roxie, change him back before I start thinking up mini-sweater ideas. Oh I might make some of those! They'll come in handy."

"No one's making mini-anything!" Dipper insisted, "Change me back, right now!"

"Alright, Dippy, don't get your panties in a twist." Roxie sniggered, setting him down on the ground with a playful roughness that made him stumble a little. Pinching the crystal from her neck and holding it to the light, she squinted as Dipper was drowned in blue light until he was at his average height again, "Is Dippy feeling better now?" she pouted, "So come on, what've I missed this summer?"

* * *

Inside the Shack, the twins and Roxie were sat around the dining table with a soda each and were chatting endlessly. Mable had enjoyed telling the stories of the weeks past. The body-swap carpet, the boy band, Summerween, and she'd just finished showing off another letter left to her by Mermando. Although Roxie was in awe at the adventurous tales, she was currently in tears of laughter at a certain detail from the merman tale.

"Wow, twins really do share everything." She snorted, "Tell me Dippy, did he taste like sushi?"

Dipper tugged his cap over his eyes, "Never… say that… again…"

"So what about you?" Mabel asked eagerly, "Did you find your family?"

At that, Dipper peeked out a little in time to see Roxie deflate considerably, "Uh, yeah I found them. Needless to say they were a little more than surprised. But I was right, I don't need them anyways. Who needs a family when you can live the fun and fancy-free life, right?" she asked, putting on a smile which was clearly strained.

Mabel patted her shoulder, "Sorry."

"Pfft, don't you say sorry, it's them that's missing out. And I don't want to hang around with a bunch of liars anyway."

"Liars?" the twins asked.

"Yeah, uh, apparently the story they told me about me getting lost in the woods and being found in mini-me form was a load of hooey. Turns out my sis-, I mean, their daughter… was the one who got lost and she happened to find me as is and wanted to keep me as a pet. The rest is history."

Mabel shook her head pitifully and even Dipper winced at the harshness of it, "Man, that's rough."

"They were finally honest with me. Can't fault them on that. But anyway, I would have thought you two would be thrilled that you were proved right about me."

"Well yeah but…"

"…Not like that." Mabel finished for him, "So what've you been doing since?"

"Not as much as you guys." Roxie chuckled, "But I've been around, met a few people and I figured I'd come back for a visit."

"And the thing you were running from in the woods?"

Mabel widened her eyes and almost choked on her soda, "That thing was chasing you too? Wow we were running like maniacs from it earlier, I wonder what it is. I probably could have found out if you'd let me get a closer look."

Dipper frowned, "Mabel, we don't know what that thing is, and last I checked marching right up to something that's hunting us down is not the best thing to do…"

"He's not wrong, Mabel, that thing is best left alone."

"Ha! So you do know what it is!" Dipper cried in triumph.

Roxie arched an eyebrow, "Dippy, I know you're not going to believe me; yet I can honestly say that I have no idea what that thing is, but I do know that it's not something you want to have normal conversation with."

The look she gave him gave a clear message that this was all the information he was going to get out of her, if there was any more to get. The twins exchanged a look and shrugged in acceptance. Or rather, they gave the illusion of acceptance. Mabel felt her curiosity bubbling, but she knew to trust her friends judgments. Dipper on the other hand, felt his fingers twitching in eagerness to search the journal. He had followed Roxie's prediction, he didn't believe that she didn't know more. But from experience he knew that pushing her wasn't going to achieve anything either.

"Wow this turned morbid." Roxie said suddenly.

"I'd say ominous." Mabel nodded, "Anywho, how long are you staying for?"

"Not sure yet, but I might stick around a while. Search these woods a little more maybe."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"Something like that." She shrugged, "Hey, you know what, let's go and do something."

"Huh?" Dipper started, "Like what?"

She stood up and snatched his cap from his head and put it on herself, tugging Mabel along in the process, "Surprise me!"

**A/N:**

**Mlg vevib uznrorzi uzxv rh dvoxlnrmt**


	3. Curious Indications

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Not every familiar face is welcoming**

**Hey guys! I'm so so so sorry for the long wait, I've had final essays and an exam to get out of the way, but I'm back now and I'm enjoying the free time I have to write some new chapters XD I really hope you enjoy this one!**

"I've missed this place." Roxie sighed contently as she and the twins sipped their smoothies that they had purchased at the local diner. They sat in one of the booths, enjoying the sun that shone through the window.

"Then you should have come back to visit sooner." Mabel scolded jokingly.

"Yeah I guess so. But there's only so much paranoia I can take at a time." She said giving a pointed yet playful look at Dipper.

"Look who's talking," he muttered.

So far they'd spent the morning strolling about the town centre and showing Roxie around the many shops that had been looked over upon her last visit. And now they had chosen to take rest in the diner before setting off again. Not that they had a plan of what to do for the rest of the day, but Roxie had a lot of missed time to catch up on and she didn't want to waste a minute of it. She wanted to see everything. There was something about this place that felt like home t her, and she wasn't sure of she wanted to leave it. So what better way to explore than catching up with friends? That was her opinion and she stood by it.

Mabel and Dipper were all too happy to comply for now. However, Dipper was still practically fizzing with questions. What was the real reason she randomly chose to return? And why was she deliberately avoiding the topic of what she really was? She'd already admitted earlier on that she wasn't 'exactly' human but what that meant was still a mystery. But she still wasn't letting anything slip at this point. And from past experience, he found that he wasn't going to get answers from the journal, and right our forcing the information out of her was just going to end up on one massive headache for him. So it was a matter of playing the waiting game and tracking down any hints she might be leaving. And he wasn't alone.

Mabel was also sitting on the edge of her seat in eagerness. But whereas her brother was growing irritable and uneasy with being kept in the dark; she saw it as an exciting puzzle to solve. To her it wasn't a matter of hunting down facts, it was about finding out a little more about her friend and being part of the ride. Overall it didn't matter to her in Roxie wasn't human, she just wanted to know what she was for the fun of it. After all, in her eyes she'd almost married a gnome and shared her first kiss with a merman, whatever Roxie was it didn't matter one bit.

"So what do you have planned this summer?" Mabel asked.

She shrugged, "I'll hang around here for a while and then I'll see where life takes me. I honestly have no real plans. But that forest is looking pretty interesting…"

"Interesting?" Dipper questioned.

"You know, for uh, exploration purposes. Apart from running around for my life and hiding, I didn't really get the chance to see much of it last time."

"But what about that thing running around out there? Let's face it, you were pretty quick to get away from it earlier on."

Roxie looked at him quizzically before sniggering, "I was only interested in getting you away from it actually; knowing you, you'd march right up to it in shrunken form and challenge it to a duel or something. Hmm, come to think of it I should have left you be, that'd be an interesting watch."

"Very funny…" he muttered.

"But seriously now, I fully plan on avoiding that thing at all costs. But when you think about it, my sist-," she paused, collecting herself before continuing as if she hadn't made another mistake, "I mean that girl, found me in those woods, so maybe I'll be able to find some clue if there's more like me out there. Obviously I'm not going to drag you guys along, it was just an idea I had."

"More mini-people?" Mabel gasped, "Awe that's adorable!"

"Not really the term I was looking for, Mabel…"

"Maybe not but it's the one I'm using." She grinned.

Dipper, not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to get some answers, leant forward a little, "Sure, we'll come along. Three heads are better than one, right."

"Four if you include the size of yours." Roxie quipped, "And you don't have to be so sneaky about it, Dippy, we're both looking for the same answers here."

He blinked at the outright nature in which he was caught out. But, she had a point, "Sneaky? Me? I'm not being sneaky I'm just, you know, offering to help and… stuff."

She and Mabel exchanged a knowing look before the three chose to finish their sodas and leave the diner. After spending the entire day wondering around the town centre and such, they were ready to drop. So they figured that it would be best to head back to the Shack. But to do that they had to take the route along the side streets as it was a lot quicker. However, what they didn't count on was the brief interruption they were about to face.

Just as they were about to head onto the dirt track that lead towards the shack, they saw a figure coming towards them. A short and strangely bright figure at that. It was a child, a year or two younger than the twins at most. He had his platinum blond hair styled and fixed into a high quiff on top of his pudgy head. A pale blue suit fitted around his round belly, giving off a slight sparkle in the late afternoon sun. He hadn't noticed the trio up ahead yet and thus continued humming his merry little tune as he strolled up the sidewalk.

Roxie noted all of these horribly familiar details and felt a cold chill run up her spine. The sight of those fat little hands just reminded her of the time they'd snatched at her and trapped her into an enclosed box, "Gideon? Gideon is still around here?"

"Unfortunately, but you know he does live here too." Dipper stated. He noticed her ducking into a side ally and crouching down behind a dumpster in desperation to be out of sight, "What're you doing?"

"You're taller this time, you can take him easy if he tries anything!" Mabel added, "He's too much of a wimp anyway."

"I know that but think about it!" Roxie hissed, "If he sees me then he's going to know that I have a crystal and then we'll never get rid of him!"

"Yeah, but he's seen me since then." Dipper shrugged, "So he obviously knows that there's a crystal around here somewhere."

"Well that may be but I'd rather him not know I'm back. I don't really fancy giving him another reason to give you guys a hard time."

"She's got a point." Mabel shrugged, "Quick, here he comes!"

The twins stood determinedly out in the open and narrowed their eyes as Gideon headed towards them. His eyes sparked in cruel interest as he caught sight of them. However the closer he got, the more the dark glimmer melted away into a sickly sweet smile. For effect he waggled his fingers in a mockery of a greeting and stopped just before them.

"Why ain't this a surprise finding the two of you here? Just out for a stroll, I see. So quaint, so quaint."

"What d'you want, Gideon?" Dipper asked almost tiredly.

"Oh nothing at this exact time." He shrugged passively, "Just finished setting up the stage for another show, somebody's got to entertain the public. Speaking of which, how is that joke-shop old Stanford's running into the ground?"

"Running just ground-worthy, thank you very much." Mabel nodded pointedly.

"As expected." the southerner replied smugly, "Is he ready to sign that dump over to a real business man yet?"

"He might, if he ever finds one." Dipper shot back.

Gideon glared, "Oh, he'll sign soon enough, boy, I guarantee that. In fact, I've just had a little meeting with a friend who's promised me that a beauty of an attraction has been seen around this place. I believe you had a little encounter not long ago?"

At that, Mabel could just see Roxie tense out of the corner of her eye, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing for you to worry your sweet little head about, darlin'; but as soon as this deal comes though, I'll have enough earnings to buy out your Uncle and he won't be able to do a thing about it."

"You talk a lot of trash for a guy who wears a tux, you know that?" Dipper asked.

"And the spray doesn't help much either." Mabel added, fanning her hand before her face as the smell of his hairspray wafted at her.

"Mock me now, Pines, but I warn you that as soon as the pest I'm after is in hand, you two and your precious Shack won't be far behind."

"Yeah right, like you'd be able to manage that." Mabel scoffed.

Gideon shrugged as he passed them with an air of authority, "A lot can happen in a week. Good day to you both."

They watched him leave, grimacing at his high-pitched snigger that echoed down the street. Only when he was truly gone did they turn and give the signal for Roxie to emerge from her hiding spot. She looked worried, but covered it as she brushed herself down and rolled her eyes.

"He's such a little troll." She sneered.

"Does he know you're back already?" Dipper demanded, "A _little pest_ that he needs for an attraction, something we've had an encounter with recently…"

"I haven't been anywhere near him!" she insisted, "And that could mean anything."

"Well, I wouldn't say _anything_." Mabel muttered uncertainly.

"What about that thing that was chasing you guys earlier? Maybe he means that, I mean I'd pay money to see it. Besides… what did he mean by a lot happening in a week? Why is a week so important?"

"Oh well," Dipper mumbled guiltily, "It's coming to the end of summer so, you know…"

"Our parents are picking us up. This is our last week in Gravity Falls." Mabel finished for him.

"Your last… really? Already?"

"I know right, it's gone so quickly." Mabel agreed.

Dipper tilted his head at the irritated haze that had come over the girls face, "What're you so annoyed at? You didn't think we'd be here forever, did you?"

"No, I knew you'd be heading to your old life at some point but… Now; really?"

"Well not now but in a week, yeah."

"Hey you can stay with us!" Mabel offered, "I mean you've got the crystal so you can hide anytime, and we can tell our parents you're a friend from school sleeping over if you don't want to be small all the time! It's full proof!"

Roxie clenched her fists, "Thank for the offer, but I don't go small for anyone. And I don't want to be someone's pet either."

"Hey, you know she didn't mean it like that." Dipper said, eyes narrowing.

"Never mind." She stated, "I'm going home."

The twins exchanged a look before Mabel spoke, "Home? Where're you staying?"

"Around."

"Where?"

"Somewhere."

"Like."

"Close by."

"That's?"

"Somewhere."

"Like?"

Dipper groaned at the replay of words, "Okay, we get it, you're not telling us! Why not?"

"Because it's my business. You're entitled to go back home, and so am I." Roxie said, tone hinted with resentment, "I'll catch you tomorrow or something. If you haven't left by then."

As they watched her cross the street and vanish around one of the ally's between two stores, Dipper couldn't help but feel heated annoyance bubble in the put of his stomach. What was her problem? He turned to his sister and pointed down the road, "Why's she angry at us? We didn't do anything! All we're doing is going home at the end of the summer, as was the plan from the start! She knew that!"

Mabel tutted, "Oh Dipper… You just don't understand girls sometimes, do you?"

His shoulders slumped, "Where're you going with this?"

"It's easy. She's recently found out that her family, who aren't even her family, have been lying to her and basically kidnapped her from a place she doesn't remember. Then she found out that she isn't even human. Not to mention not having a real home. And now she comes back here to find the only people who gave her a chance only to find that they're leaving in a short time. No wonder she's angry!"

Although he felt a trace og guilt, he ignored it, "None of that is our fault though."

"She knows that, that doesn't mean she has to like it." She shrugged, "We'll just have to make her time here all the more fun to make up for it!"

Dipper rolled his eyes, "Sure…"

**Rmgifwvi drgs srwwvm zrnh**

**I hope this chapter made up for the long wait! Please review and I'll upload asap XD**


	4. Breaking an Entering

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Intruder with hidden aims**

Dipper turned another page of his journal as he sat in bed, propped up against the headboard by a stack of pillows. He was reading by the light of the lamp on the desk beside him, currently looking at the ways in which creatures use camouflage. Not only did he find it fascinating, he figured that it could also be very useful in the future. From the other side of the room, Mabel was holding up two sweaters, trying to choose which one she should wear the following day. Finally, she chose on the peach coloured one with a pattern of green leaves circling the middle. She started to clamber into bed and settle down for the night.

"Night, Dipper!" she called over to the bed parallel to hers.

"Hmm?" Dipper answered, looking up from his book and taking the hint that now was the time for lights out, "Oh, goodnight." He put the journal on the desk and flicked the lamp off, sliding beneath his sheets and folding his arms behind his head on the pillow.

"Hey, hey Dipper!"

"Yeah?"

"You awake?"

He gave a half-smile in the gloom, "Yeah, I'm awake."

The muffled sound of ruffling blankets met his ears as Mabel turned onto her side to glance at her brothers shape across the room, "What do you think Gideon meant by a new attraction? Do you think he meant that thing in the woods, or does he mean Roxie? I'm last time it sounded like he knew what she was."

He had to admit that she had a very good point, "Your guess is as good as mine. I'm trying to remember what he called her, but she can't be as rare as a huge monster running around the forest, right?"

"Not sure if she'll take offense to that or not." Mabel mused.

"She takes offence to everything I say." He returned, "But he's definitely up to something."

"When isn't he?"

"Good point. But hey, do you think Roxie knows something? I think she's hiding something."

"You always think someone's hiding something."

"But I'm serious! Like, why does she want to see the forest so much when she knows that something's out there, something that she's openly admitted to wanting to avoid? She knows _exactly_ what it is, I know it. Who's to say that she doesn't know what Gideon's up to as well?"

Mabel thought about it for a minute, "Well I don't know if she's telling the truth or not, but I do know that she's our friend, Dipper. Whatever she's telling us, truth or not, then there's going to be a reason."

Dipper sighed, as much as he hated to admit it, she was right. The curiosity and lack of answers were eating at him inside out. But his sisters' words rang true. As much as they didn't get along, Roxie was still counted as his friend too, and there had to be some reason or logic behind the secrecy, no matter how irritating he found it.

"Goodnight, Mabel." He said with a hint of a smile in his tone.

She sniggered in triumph, "Nighty-Night, Dipping-Sauce!"

* * *

Dreams came with surprising ease for the twins that evening. The Shack was silent and still as the shadows swelled into blankets of night. Everything was at perfect peace. And that, is exactly why Mabel found herself stirring and eventually awakening. Naturally and proudly, she was a heavy sleeper. Over the years she had trained herself to sleep effortlessly through Dipper's commentaries when reading, family members snoring and over the summer she had added the sounds of the surrounding forest to the list. So now, when everything was perfectly quiet and peaceful, she was unsettled.

The brunette squinted through heavy eyelids and blinked groggily as she tried to focus on the gloom. Why was it so quiet? And cold? Sleep had made her limbs weighted and she couldn't bring herself to move them just yet, but she managed her tilt her head towards the bedroom door and found that it was open. A chilling breeze floated in as if someone had left a window open somewhere in the Shack. No, it was way too cold for just a window. A door? Did someone leave the front door open or something? Well that's just silly, she thought still half asleep, people barely want to visit the tourist trap in the day let alone in the middle of the night!

Before she could think too much on it, something caught her eye that made her snap fully into consciousness. A large, gloom-draped figure was shuffling around by the desk between the two beds. It was pretty heavy handed, brushing objects aside instead of picking them up and moving them. Mabel tried her best not to make any noise out of fear. The figure looked about the size and shape of a human, but it blended into the shadows too easily. Its limbs a little too muscular and the moonlight revealing rough and bumpy skin that horribly resembled scales. Spikes trailed up its spine and resulted in a series of them across its head like a deformed crown. And it was looking for something. It would brush aside books and papers, tipping over Dippers cap that he left on the side only to release a whisper of a snarl in frustration before searching again. Whatever it wanted, it wasn't here.

Mabel wouldn't take it anymore, she subtly reached up and clenched her fists around her pillow. Gathering all of her strength, she jumped up and smacked the thing full force, "Taste pillow feathers, Intruder!"

Dipper yelped as he shot bolt upright, "Huh-What the-?" he flinched as he caught sight of the creature turning with a cruel growl, "Mabel get out of here!"

"I have him, Dipper!" his twin called confidently just as she was swiped at with a claw, "Ha! Missed! Hey!"

Dipper watched in horror as the creature grabbed at her, hoisting her into the air. He instinctively lunged at the being, barely even making it stumble. He pounded his fists against the rough skin as Mabel kicked and thrashed angrily at her captor. Suddenly, it flung its arms outwards, tossing the twins aside as if they were but irritating insects to it. Looking for an escape, it turned once more to glare at them with burning eyes before scrambling onto the desk and forcing itself through the triangle shaped window. Glass shattered and fell like ice along the floor, filling in the scratch marks it left in the woodwork of the desk and window ledge. The sounds of it sprinting back into the woods was both a comfort and a terror. But for now at least, it was gone.

"Are you okay?" Dipper asked hurriedly, rushing to help his sister to her feet.

"Yeah." She panted, "I really scared him off huh?"

"Sure…" he sighed with relief, "What was that thing?"

"No idea, but he had no respect for privacy."

Before anymore questions could be answered, they were interrupted by the footsteps of someone rushing up the stairs to their room, "Kids! Keep it down will ya I'm trying to… What happened?" Stan's voice boomed as he peered into the trashed room.

Mabel didn't know where to start, "Teeth and scales and-and _grrr_ and…" she waved her hands desperately, "Big lizard-bear thing!"

"Ah it was probably just a fox or something that got in. Soos must have forgotten to lock up or something."

Dipper widened his eyes in disbelief, "Are you kidding me? What fox could have done this?" He pointed at the claw marks and shattered window.

"A big one? How messed up are ya?" Stan arched an eyebrow curiously, "On a scale of one to Insurance Fraud?"

Dipper gasped for breath, "It could have killed us!"

"I'm going with the _nearly_;" he nodded, "Jeez this place is a wreck. Looks like I'm going with the fraud after all." He yawned, "Meh I'll deal with that tomorrow… Night kids."

"But… what about us?" Mabel asked, pushing some of the glass on the floor with her slippered foot.

"Oh right uh… How about setting up a camp in the spare room? I dunno, you're smart right?"

"Smart enough to know that this wasn't a fox!" Dipper returned, but his uncle had already left.

For the siblings, it seemed that dreams would not be coming so easily this time around.

* * *

Roxie strolled up the path the following morning, enjoying the sun warming her skin after a less than comfortable sleep. But that couldn't be helped really. It was a choice she made and it was for the best. So she couldn't really complain too much. At least she had seeing the twins to look forward to. And that's exactly where she was headed right now. It was good to have a break from constantly having to look over her shoulder. And if there was one thing she couldn't fault them on, it was their honesty with her. There were no secrets, and no lies. She knew exactly where she stood with them. But she couldn't deny the guilt she felt that they most likely could say the same thing about her.

"I'll change that soon." She promised to them secretly, "I just need more time."

She continued to walk closer to the Shack until the broken down building came into view. Instantly, something didn't feel right. The front door was hanging from just one hinge, and the window that led into the twins room had been smashed and was not covered up with cardboard and tape. What the…

"Mabel? Dipper?" she called, rushing up the steps and into the Shack, "Dipper! Mabel! Where-?"

"Hello! _Boop!_" Mabel chuckled, jumping out from the living room and prodding Roxie on the nose, "Why so loud?"

"Yeah," Dipper said smugly, folding his arms and arching an eyebrow, "Anyone would think you were worried about us or something."

She narrowed her eyes, "I wasn't worried, _Dippy_!"

"Sure."

"But seriously," she added, wanting to move on as quickly as possible, "What happened here? The door and window look like something football tackled it!"

"Something kinda did." Mabel nodded, "Talk about some major breaking and entering last night."

"Seriously? Jeez, what did they take?"

"Nothing." she shrugged, "It just jumped in and jumped right back out again. Literally."

"Sure, after it took a good look around our room for something it couldn't find…" Dipper grumbled.

Roxie tilted her head quizzically, "You keep saying _it_ instead of they, he or she… Why?"

"Because whatever came into our room wasn't human." He explained pointedly, "I think it might be whatever was chasing us in the woods yesterday."

It was as if someone had slapped Roxie full force in the face. She tensed and her fists clenched, "You're sure? What was it looking for?"

"No idea, weird huh?"

She nodded at Mabel's statment in agreement, "Yeah… Was it after the journal maybe?"

"Maybe. But it was on the desk in plain view so maybe not…" Dipper pondered, "But what does a creature from the forest want with a book?"

"Bored maybe?" Mabel offered, "Or someone else wants it."

Roxie suddenly straightened up, "You know what, I'm heading back home for a while, clearly you've got a lot on your plate here so… Yeah."

"Wait a minute!" Dipper said as she started to walk away, "You're just going to take off again? Why now?"

"Nothing, it's just… maybe it was a mistake coming back here."

She looked almost upset as she sprinted off. The twins were surprised to see her going into the direction of the woodland instead of following the dirt track. This peeked Dipper's interest greatly. Why was she reacting like this? And what was she doing in the forest when they were just talking about the creature that was lurking in there? It didn't make sense! Mabel glanced at her brother slyly, picking up on his irritable curiosity.

"You gonna follow her?"

He adjusted his cap in determination, "Oh yeah."

**Gdl xivzgfivh ziv wrhxlevivw**

**A/N:**

**There will be some more answers in the next chapter. So look out, lol XD Don't forget to review on what you think so far!**


	5. Trees and Caves

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Two Creatures are Discovered**

"Man she's fast!" Dipper panted as he and his sister trudged through the woods.

They'd bee on Roxie's tail for some time now, but the sound of her footsteps had long faded away and now they were avoiding rocks and wines along an overgrown woodland path with no clue of where she was. By this point they were a almost half way through the forest, any further and they'd be coming up to the town centre again if they carried on much longer. Dipper was starting to get annoyed, again. They were pretty much risking their necks even being out here when that thing was hiding somewhere. Mabel understood this threat, and admittedly she was anxious, but at the same time it was more of a feeling of adventure. A rescue mission almost and that made it much more fun.

"We'll find her sooner or later;" she reassured, "I mean Gravity Falls isn't that big."

"Yeah but she has a bad habit of vanishing from it."

"But she shows up again."

"Yeah I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or not." He said with a half smile.

She rolled her eyes, "Why don't we slip up? We'll find her faster."

Dipper's eyes widened, "If there's one thing I've learned from movies it's that you never split up. First rule of survival when there's an unknown creature out there: Safety in numbers."

A knowing smirk, "I thought it was: always bring extra cameras?"

"Okay, okay; so not splitting up is the second thing."

"Good to know. So I'm gonna take a peek over that way, alright?"

"Yeah okay. Hey wait a minute!" He called after realising his mistake at being duped.

"I'm joking! Don't worry so much." His twin chuckled, giving him a playful shove, "Hey I think I see something!"

"Mabel wait up!"

"Then hurry up!"

He did try, but she was too quick for him. Skipping and darting between the trees towards the light rustle up ahead. There didn't seem like much of a danger because it was so faint, but there were still smaller things in these woods that were still dangerous. And now they were getting even further from the pathway. However it didn't take long before Mabel stopped so abruptly that the boy nearly collided right into her. She looked around thoughtfully before slumping her shoulders in defeat, pouting slightly.

"I'm sure I heard someone walking over here. Or maybe it was over there…"

Dipper leant against a tree trunk, palm flat against the bark as he tried to catch his breath, "Sure…" he panted, "Next time how about giving me a warning?"

"I did. I told you I heard something and then said to hurry up." Mabel giggled, "You can rest up if you like, I'm just going to take a look over there for a second."

"Give me a minute, I'll be right with you."

"Snooze you loose, brother!"

"Mabel!" he called, but it was too late, he sighed and rolled his eyes, "And she's gone… Great. You know one day someone is actually going to listen to me around here! And now I'm talking to myself, perfect."

Finally able to breathe again, Dipper straightened up and started to think about following his sister. She couldn't have gone that far. However, all thoughts of a perusal were knocked clean out of his mind when he saw something just out of the corner of his eye. Spinning around, he saw that it was just a splash of water that had fallen from further up the tree. Annoyed at the unnecessary jump-scare, Dipper huffed and flared at the puddle that was now seeping into the dirt. Suddenly, his eyebrow arched in thought. Where did that water come from?

There hadn't been any rain lately, and it had been too big a dollop to have just dripped from a leaf or branch, not to mention that he couldn't see or hear any animals or birds up there that could have carried it either. How strange, he thought. Dipper prodded the damp patch with his foot before standing directly over it in order to look up and see where it came from. But all he could see was the thick branches and then the tree-top beyond that, the sky just peeking through. Although in the time it took for him to twist his lips in confusion, another fist-sized blob of clear liquid plummeted downwards and smacked him right on the nose.

He gasped as the cool water washed over him harshly, sending him stepping backwards as he sputtered. Furrowing his brow in determination, he decided that he was going to investigate. With a forceful run and jump, the boy managed to grab onto a lower branch and hoist himself upwards. Wiping the damp from his brow, Dipper started to climb.

During the climb, three more blobs of water had plummeted downwards. Two missed, one drenching his right shoulder. He chose to stop and take a breather, perching on a branch and trying to figure out how much farther he had to climb. No more than half way, he figured, but then again he could be wrong.

"Ah come on!" Dipper nearly fell right off of the limb at the faint, irritated voice from above. A hand clamped over his mouth to stop himself from crying out or asking a simple 'hello'. Instead, he waited until he heard it again, more annoyed this time, "Oh forget it…"

The comment was quickly followed by heavy footsteps as if someone was stomping along the bark, and then, silence. Well that was weird, Dipper thought. There was a twinge of guilt as he thought about going back and waiting for Mabel, or even going after her, but by that time whatever or whoever was up there would be long gone. So, with that reasoning in mind, he started to clamber upwards once more as gently and quietly as he could. But it wasn't until he got about three more branches up that he figured that there was no way another person could be up in this tree. He could already see the top. And things were way too still for another climber.

Once more, Dipper took a break while trying to figure this out. Someone else was definitely in this tree, and dropping water bombs for whatever reason, and yet there was no one there besides him. Huffing in confusion, he leant to the side to rest his palm against the trunk. However, he stopped himself when he discovered that there was a hollowed out gap in the trunk. A squirrel hole maybe? Something like that? For some reason, Dipper wanted to take a closer look. After all, wasn't he investigating a tree when he found the 3 journal. It just went to show that nothing was what it seemed. And so, he shifted along the branch closer to the trunk, closed one eye, and peered inside the gap.

"OW! What the-?" he recoiled as something collided with his eye.

Something shuffled around inside. Narrowing his good eye in anger, Dipper started to prise the bark away, widening the opening the cavity wider. Normally Dipper would have taken the hint and backed off, let's face it bugs or critters don't take kindly to intruders. But bugs and critters… don't punch people. Light poured into the trunk, illuminating the damp wood, moss carpeting the brittle base. It looked like how you'd expect the inside of a tree. Except for one thing: the figure moving inside.

Dipper's eyes widened in shock, "R-Roxie?"

* * *

Mabel smiled absentmindedly to herself as she walked along the side of a blackberry bush, occasionally picking one and blowing the invisible dirt from it before popping it into her mouth. She smiled at her brother's anxiousness and dawdling. What was he so worried about anyways? That creature thing was most likely off on the other side of the forest by now trying to stay clear after being caught out in the Shack. She figured that although it would be so much better to avoid it, it wouldn't be the worse thing in the world if they didn't. And who knows, maybe they'd get some answers from it.

She chewed another berry and tried to listen out for the rustling she'd heard earlier. The reason why she'd followed it, was because they were faint. And faint meant small. In other words, not the big scary monster that Dipper was so worried about. It was simple logic. She didn't understand why people didn't think she could use it every once in a while. But she didn't care. Instead she pushed on until a small movement from behind a thick cluster of trees. She grinned excitably and tiptoed forward. She didn't know what to expect, but that's what made it all the more interesting.

However, what she wasn't expecting, was a large rock surface etched into the side of a small hill that looked more like a grassy dirt mount. The rocks parted, becoming an uneven cave mouth. Mabel felt her eyes widen in fascination, looking over her shoulder to see if her twin was following or not. Seeing that he was nowhere to be found, she chose to go on ahead. After all, he'll catch up eventually. A mischievous grin pulled at her cheeks as she nudged forward, hands curving around the rock edge, peering into the gloom.

"Hello in there!" she called, her words bouncing back to her in an echo, "Anyone home?"

The smell of damp and moss was both repulsive and inviting. It was like the smell of an elderly relatives house, she thought, it's not a nice smell that you'd like to experience a lot but at the same time it's familiar and comforting. Mabel hesitated for a moment, figuring that Dipper would be angry if she went in without him. But that didn't mean she couldn't lean in just a little closer. And she did so. The dank air clinging to her skin. Wait, this air was warm. Warm air shouldn't be in a cave, right? And something else that shouldn't be in a cave. Eyes. Especially not ones that were narrowed in such anger like that.

"Uh… I'll come back later." She offered, turning tail and sprinting for safety, "Dipper!"

* * *

It was definitely her. The mass of mousy hair, suspicious eyes glaring back at him stood out in familiarity. But she was smaller again, about four or five inches at most. That wasn't exactly an unusual sight as she still had the crystal in a pendant around her tiny neck. She was standing with her back half-facing him. He noticed that she was wearing an extremely low V-neck top backwards so that the dip in fabric travelled in an upside-down triangle down her back. He was about to avert his eyes out of politeness, when something caught his eye. The low-cut was holding a purpose, to let something stand free. Four streaks of blue producing from her back, just either side of her spine by her shoulder blades. Two poised upwards, and two down. Were those…? Where those wi-

"What do you want?" Roxie snapped, turning to face him directly and folding the translucent limbs behind her to hide them, "I told you not to follow me, didn't I?"

Dipper blinked, still in awe, "Roxie… what are those?"

"What's what?"

A memory flickered past Dippers eyes. He recalled the time when he and Roxie were both that size and she had asked him to investigate the terrible pain in her back. He'd seen sore cuts that looked recently reopened, and inside them, little blue lines as if something was trying to push its way out…

"What're you doing here?" she asked suddenly, desperately trying to change topic.

Dipper shook himself from his memory and leaned a little closer, "Looking for you. So are you going to tell me what those are on your back or what?"

Her eyes lowered, "Jeez, Dippy, take a hint…"

"Why don't you?" he challenged, "Now tell me what's going on with you, or I'll pick you up and take a look myself."

She tensed, taking a step deeper into the hovel, "You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I?" an eyebrow arched expectantly, his hand reaching out not to grab her, but just to lay flat just outside the entrance for her to climb on.

Caught out and fresh out of options, Roxie huffed and gave in. She took the offer of stepping out into the sunlight, a little uneasy standing on the boys hand but keeping steady. Refusing to make eye contact, she grudgingly turned her back on him and spread the crystal blue limbs from behind her, letting the sun highlight the veins that travelled along the paper-thin material. They ended in delicate points at the end, yet the bases seemed to be embedded into her skin, traces of blue coiled around her spine just visible under the skin. Dipper instinctively raised her up so that she was eyelevel. He exhaled in awe, his breath making the items quiver slightly.

"Whoa…"

"Alright show's over." She spat, turning around pointedly.

"Wings?"

"They're certainly not hair extensions, Dippy… Yes wings."

Still in a state of stunned intrigue, he tilted his head, "You're a fairy?"

The look of anger in her eyes was enough to snap him out of it, "I am _not_ a fairy, you twit! I'm a… I don't know, whatever it was that Gideon called me before. A Manx or Adhene… whatever. I don't know, okay, I'm just going on second-hand info here!"

"Alright, take it easy! _Sheesh_! I'm just going on _no _info here!"

She deliberately stomped her foot so that it stung his palm a little. The two stared at each other for a while, refusing to give in. Finally, Roxie took a breath and dropped her guard, "Sorry, I'm not being fair."

He wanted to point out that she really wasn't, but thought against it. She probably felt small enough as it is, "Forget it. So, what exactly is going in here?"

The wings twitched in anxiousness, "They just… kept growing." She explained, an almost pained expression on her face as she looked up at him, "At first I didn't notice because I was human size, and for some reason they weren't. I don't think the crystal has any effect on them, so the next time I shrank down… there they were. It was about that time I'd swallowed my pride and figured that you were right. I'm not normal."

He felt guilt at that, and wanted to lighten the mood, "Oh I don't think it was the wings that clarified that."

She scowled, but let it melt away into a smirk, "Shut up, Dippy…" Her eyes drifted over to his soaked shoulder, "Oh… Whoops."

He looked down at where the mysterious splashes of water had hit him, "Huh?"

"I'll uh… tell you later."

One thing at a time Dipper, "How come you didn't tell us about _these_ sooner?"

"I guess I just wanted to pretend for a bit longer. And I didn't want to be anyone's test subject again." she shot at him pointedly. He was about to object when she cut him off again, "Don't take it personally. It's just if you don't know, then that means that less people can find out."

"You mean Gideon?"

"I mean anyone. I'm being generic."

So she hadn't told anyone for fear of being treated differently for it? Now Dipper really was feeling the guilt, "Have you… Have you been staying here for the past few days?"

"Pretty much. It's dry and out of the way so it's useful to me."

"Why not stay at the Shack, hide or something if you didn't want to be seen."

"Too risky." She shrugged, arching an eyebrow, "So what now huh?"

Good question, "Uh, I guess we find Mabel, she's going to love this you know."

"You don't say… Where is she anyway?"

A shrill yell of panic cracked the air around them, "Dipper! Dipper where are you? Help!"

Dipper peered downwards in panic, Roxie leaning over his fingers to get a better view, "Never mind I think I found her."

He looked around and could just make out his twins figure sprinting madly, something following after, "You can fly right?"

"Only up, down and forward." She answered sheepishly, "I haven't figured out corners yet."

"Good enough." He said, panic starting to rise, "Come on!"

**A/N:**

**Zmhdvih**

**So what's chacing Mabel, what exactly is the full story on Roxie and what id Gideon planning? Read on my pretties! XD**


	6. Being Honest

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Answers**

Roxie watched as Dipper scrambled desperately down the tree. She was still irritated at having been caught. It wasn't fair for him to follow her like that. She had her reasons and didn't want them shared. The icy blue limbs producing from her back made her cringe in shame. She didn't want them. She didn't even want to look at them. They were just a reminder of how she was picked up from the dirt and dropped just as quickly into it. It was humiliating and depressing. And what made it worse was that she didn't even know to use the darn things properly.

Yes, she was still angry for the twins intervening. But she could give in to delay just this once. Mabel was calling them, and she didn't sound too happy either. Understatement if there ever was one. Okay Roxie, she scolded herself, let's get this next hour over with and then you can plan your next move. She arched her back and forced her muscles to move at the base of her shoulders. It took a lot of strain, but finally her wings started to move. They quivered in a rhythm all their own. Closing upwards behind her, tilting outwards slightly before snapping outwards around her. And repeat. They gradually became faster and more rapid until finally she felt her feet leave the wood.

Dipper dropped to the ground, "Mabel! Mabel where are you?"

"Jeez, not so loud!" Roxie snapped, hovering at his side.

He widened his eyes at the sight of her, "Man, you weren't kidding."

"Good observation Sherlock," she quipped, sounding oddly out of breath.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" she panted, "This just takes a lot of effort to keep up. Imagine using a jump-rope constantly with no breaks."

"Sounds exhausting." He commented.

"Yet it is. So how about we hurry it up and find Mabel, huh?"

"Oh, uh right." He nodded in agreement and looked around once more, "Mabel!"

"Over here!" The owner of the voice scrambled from the bushes and collapsed against the tree, gasping for breath. She gathered enough energy to smile, "What's up, brother?"

He narrowed his eyes, "What's up? What's up with you? Why were you screaming?"

"I wasn't screaming, I was yelling. And I was yelling because…" Mabel paused, locking eyes with the tiny, winged creature hovering unsteadily by her twins side, "… What the smile-dip is going on here?"

Roxie wasn't used to keeping still in the air, so she quakily drifted from rising upwards a few inches to suddenly dropping before regaining height once more. She gave a cheesy smile, "Hi…"

"Roxie? Whoa that's awesome! When did you learn that? Can you teach me?"

"All good questions but first why don't you tell us why you were screaming for us?" Dipper urged.

"_Yelling_." Mabel corrected, "And it was because of that big thingy again! I think I found it's cave and, hehe, he didn't have time for visitors."

Dipper stared at her in shock, "You went _in_?"

"Not exactly." She mused.

"Well where is it now?" Roxie asked, struggling to stay in the air.

"Heading that way." She replied triumphantly, "I'm not completely helpless you know."

"I never said you were." Roxie smirked, but it was quickly dropped as gravity pained her burning muscles and she fluttered to the ground, "To heck with this…" she muttered, holding the crystal up to the light, allowing the coloured light to swallow her. She felt the warm tingle as she started to grow, her wings remaining in their miniature form. Only when she was matching the twins size did she stop, "That's better."

"Awe but you don't look at cool." Mabel commented playfully, turning her friend around to examine the ting limbs poking out from her back.

"Gee thanks…" she muttered, swatting her away.

Dipper rolled his eyes, "Yeah it's all really great but are you actually going to tell us why you took off? Pun not intended… And how all of a sudden you're flying and… stuff?"

"You and your _stuff_… And no, I can't tell you, it'll just make this worse!"

"Make what worse? And you can tell us, you just don't want to."

"Because it's best for you!"

"How?"

"It just is, you stubborn little boy!"

"Is that the best insult you can come up with?"

"It's not an insult if it's true!"

Mabel sniggered, "You two argue like an old married couple, you know that?"

The two looked at one another grudgingly, huffing and turning away. Roxie didn't understand why he couldn't just leave well enough alone. It was clearly putting them in danger with her being around so she wanted to give them as much safety as possible. And if staying away was going to do that, why couldn't they see it? On the other hand, Dipper couldn't understand why Roxie was being so secretive. Surely it was better to have answers and calculate a solution from there? And yet it was like she was deliberately trying to be stubborn and secretive just for the fun of it! She was getting a kick out of making him curious. And it wasn't fair.

Mabel looked worriedly between the two, "Come back with us, Roxie, we can help."

"I don't need help. I'm getting along just fine." She answered honestly, shrugging back into her jacket which had been tied around her waist, "It's just that…"

"I know, let's make a deal. You come back to the Shack and answer our questions, and then if you still want to leave, you can and we won't follow."

"Mabel!" Dipper scowled.

"Deal?" she offered, holding out a hand.

Roxie eyed her quizzically, "It's not answering questions I have a problem with."

"Then you won't mind telling us what the problem _is_." She challenged.

"The problem is that by answering questions, you know more and that means trouble."

"You know who you're talking to, right? We're the twins of trouble! Now come on, my arms getting tired."

Roxie sighed, and after some thought figured that if they were so willing to get themselves put in danger, then who was she to deny them the privilege. She couldn't be blamed this time. She took the hand and shook it, "Fine. Let's get this over with."

* * *

Upon arriving at the Shack, the trio found the elderly guardian and owner of the building snoring loudly in his chair before the static TV. Roxie arched an eyebrow at the sleeping elder, "_That's_ your Grunkle Stan?"

Dipper nodded and whispered back, "That's him."

"With those ears and nose he could be the BFG's brother!" Roxie sniggered.

Dipper bit the inside of this cheek to stop himself sniggering, Mabel giggling quietly and tugging on her companies shoulders to lead them up towards the stairs, "Come on, I want to hear about how my friend turned into a fairy!"

"I'm _not_ a fairy." Roxie hissed.

"Details-details, you got wings right?"

"Not the same thing."

"Quick, he's gonna wake up!" Dipper urged, nudging the girls out.

They trudged up the stairs and ended up in the twins attic bedroom. Roxie looked around reminiscently, not having seen it properly since being at her previously permanent smaller stature. It felt strange being back. But not entirely a bad kind of strange. However, she hardly had time to take a trip down memory lane with the questioning look Dipper was giving her. She felt like she was being used as a test subject all over again. And it wasn't fair. She was trying to help after all.

Mabel shattered the silence with a friendly smile and a knowing chuckle, "So I take it that's what you meant by not being normal?"

Roxie appreciated the attempt at humour and felt obliged to answer, "Yeah I guess you could say that."

"So, when did this happen?" Dipper asked, "I mean I know that they were there last time but they were just little lines back then."

She folded her arms and shrugged, "Well… The pain just kept getting bigger, and so did they. They just kept growing and only stopped about a week or two ago."

"And you can still _only_ use them to go up, down and forward?" Dipper mused.

"I'd like to see you try and figure them out!"

"Okay!" Mabel interjected, "So, you're not a fairy?"

"No. Definitely not. I don't really know what I am; Gideon called me a Manx-Adhene thingy but… I really haven't been able to find much information on them though."

"A Manx." Dipper pondered, "Yeah I remember that, but there wasn't anything in the journal about them that could be useful, which must mean that they've already been documented somewhere else."

"How useful." Roxie muttered, not wanting to admit that her lack of information was just as useless.

Mabel gave her a sympathetic look, "Why did you run off before? You said it was a mistake coming back. Did you think we were going to kick you out because of what you are?"

"In case you haven't noticed, stuff like this is pretty normal around here."

"Thanks a lot, Dippy… And no I didn't think for a minute that you'd kick me out or whatever; it's just that, me being here is clearly putting you guys in danger and I wanted to stop it before it starts." Roxie insisted, "Think about it, I show up and ever since you've been chased and hunted by whatever that thing is out there! It even got into the Shack! And even Gideon is dropping hints like a bomb that he knows I'm back; and who's the first two people he's going to suspect? You guys." She ran a hand through her hair desperately, "I want to leave so that you don't get into anymore trouble than you already are."

"I didn't know you cared so much." Dipper muttered.

"It's called Plausible Deniability, Dippy, and I was giving you a truck load of it."

Mabel looked deflated. After hearing her friend's explanation, she understood a little better. Roxie was scared. She didn't want to be caught out and she didn't want anyone else to be hurt because of her. Mabel admired that, but on honesty she didn't feel any of Roxie's worries necessary. It wasn't like they weren't used to being in some sort of trouble, and as for Gideon, they could handle that little creep no problem! That's the thing about Gideon, she figured, he never learned. And that worked pretty well for them. She felt a little bad about putting her friend on the stop like that, but in the end it was needed because now they had a few answers about what she might be and why she wanted to run.

The idea of the creature still wasn't a settling one though, "Do you think that whatever that thing is, is really after you?"

"Don't you think it's weird that the day I get back here is the same day you guys meet tall, dark and creepy?"

Dipper shrugged, "It's a possibility I guess." He winced as his sister elbowed him sharply in the ribs, "Ow! What? I'm agreeing with her for once!"

"And _that's_ what you choose to agree on?" she rolled her eyes, "Anyway, I don't care if that thing is or isn't coming back; you're staying here."

Roxie titled her head, "Excuse me?"

"Well if that thing is after you, then it's best to be with friends right?"

"Mabel, I think you're missing the point here about me staying away to keep you safe…"

"No I got it. But I'm not listening to it." She smiled innocently.

"Dippy, talk some sense into her here."

Dipper took some satisfaction into shaking his head in refusal, "Actually… I'm pretty interested in finding out what that thing is, so if you're saying that you're the right bait then I guess I'm alright with you staying put for a little while."

His tone was light and playful, so calling her 'bait' was just him continuing the argumentative banter that they'd fallen into. Roxie however, couldn't believe what she was hearing, "You… if that thing comes back, looking for me or not, then you're going to get hurt! And Gideon-"

"Can't organize a burger in a meat-house." Mabel interjected.

"And we've faced weirder creatures."

"You're outnumbered, sorry, you're stuck with us."

Roxie couldn't believe what she was hearing. They were willing to risk so much just for her? She didn't understand why, and it would hurt her pride far too much to ask. She was angry at them for being so stupid and naïve and yet… and yet she was so grateful for it. She'd never had anyone do something like this for her before and honestly she was put off by it. Mostly because it was unfamiliar. But also because she kind of liked it. And yes, she was in fact outnumbered and thus forced to stay. But that's not why she smiled. No. She smiled because for the first time ever, she was happy to loose an argument.

"Fine." She pouted, "But if one of you gets eaten, I take no responsibility."

"Deal." Mabel beamed.

"Deal." Dipper agreed, a little less enthusiastically, "Oh by the way, you were going to explain what the water-bombs were all about earlier?"

"Oh those… I'll get to that eventually…" she sniggered.

* * *

And so, she stayed in the Shack that night. It was actually a comfort to sleep in the overturned cap like she had the last time. She didn't even mind that much using the crystal to shrink again. Knowing that it was among the only people who accepted her for what she was. Whatever she was. But as the trio drifted off to sleep, she couldn't help but feel guilty. Yeah it was better getting things out in the open, but at what cost? She scolded herself in the darkness. Nothing bad was going to happen. She knew it.

But as they slept, none of them noticed the large, bulky shadow that crept along the room. It scanned the shadows and picked its target carefully. Finally, it rested on it, knowing that this was the one. Its master had told him so, and he always obeyed his master…

**A/N:**

**KOLG RM NLGRLM**

**Don't forget to review! It really helps to know that people actually like this, lol XD Now the next chapter has a bit of a twist. But what it is… you'll have to wait and see (evil laughter) XD**


	7. Baiting Anger

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Plot in Motion**

It was almost afternoon when Gideon finished applying the last of his hairspray into his perfectly shaped beehive of a hairstyle. He admired himself in the mirror, ignoring the irritating tapping on his window. That thing could wait two more minutes. After all, there was no real rush. Thing were working out just fine for him, so worrying and hurrying was simply pointless. Although after not getting much sleep the previous night due to too much excitement and anticipation. But it would pay off now. And it would all fall perfectly into place.

Finally Gideon stood up and made his way over to the window, opening it wide and leaning out to see the visitor below. Normally, someone would be terrified, or at least somewhat surprised at seeing a large, scaled creature peering up from the ground below, eyes burning like embers. Especially when it was holding a small, struggling figure in its arms. Gideon however, simply looked irritated.

"I told you to put her in the garage!" he spat, "Do you want everyone to know you're here?"

The creature growled, trudging off to the back of the house. Gideon mentally scolded him, you just couldn't get good help these days. After adjusting his suit a little, the boy made his way downstairs. His father was at work at the car sales and his mother would not dare leave the house. So he walked with absolute confidence to the garage attached to the back of his home. It wasn't exactly as classy or decorative as the Tent of Telepathy, but it would do for now at least. He locked the door behind him and looked at the creature carefully.

"Good work, you've done very well, now go until I call you again."

It huffed and slumped away, melting back into the shadows of the forest. Gideon turned his attention to the girl before him. She was placed on a chair with her hands tied behind her back, a blindfold over her eyes as she kicked and struggled. He chuckled at her attempts before removing the cloth from her eyes.

"Well hello there… Mabel."

The brunette blinked in the sudden light, narrowing her eyes at the boy, "Gideon? You could have at least let me change out of my pyjamas you jerk!"

"Oh with any luck you won't be here much longer and you'll be able to put on whatever darlin' lil' sweater ensemble you like. All ya have to do is answer a few questions of mine."

"I'm not answering anything." She pouted.

"Awe well that's a shame. If ya want to make it fair I can answer one of _your_ questions?"

Not really caring about fairness, considering this whole thing wasn't fair at all. She nodded towards the open door, "Well for a start, what the heck was that thing supposed to be? Last I checked giant scaly-monkeys weren't what you normally found in a pet store."

Again, he chuckled, "Oh that's just my little Bugbear. Such a stupid thing, turns out if you give it enough compliments and it'll so whatever you want."

"Reminds me of someone else."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean." He replied innocently.

"So why set that thing on us, we haven't done anything to you!"

"Why, Mabel, once again you misunderstand me! I simply asked my big friend to invite you here, and the great host I am, I even got him to assist you here. And I think we both know what I really want to know. Where is that _lovely_ little friend of yours?" Oh and don't bother lying to me, my friend has a very good sense of smell, he went crazy when she came back here."

Smell? Mabel wondered. Roxie didn't have a smell. Oh right, that creature was basically an animal, there was probably a secret smell or sense or something. Wow this was confusing. But wait she couldn't give anything away! Or else Gideon might send that thing back for Roxie and Dipper! No, he just asked _where_ she was. So that meant that he didn't know she was at the Shack. But the creature could just sniff her out… Oh! Mabel thought, I get it, Gideon gave the Bugbear thingy orders to get me, no one else! Wow Gideon you're really dumb you know that?

She shrugged as best as she could, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb, Mabel, it's so ugly."

"So's your fashion sense!"

He gasped, "You really mean that?"

She huffed, "Well the sparkles are okay… but the rest is tacky!"

"Don't you-! You're tryin' to distract me aren't ya?" he tutted, "Now why don't ya be a darlin' and hand over that little sprite, huh? Surely you know what she is by now?"

"Uh… well my hands are kind of tied up right now. And like I'd hand her over anyway! What do you want her for? Another attraction for your show?"

"Well people would pay a lot to see that." He shrugged, "But anyway, the little Adhene owes me big time, she still has one of my crystals."

"How… But she took that from Dipper last time! How did you know that?"

A triumphant smirk, "I didn't. But that y'all so much for telling me, Mabel."

"But-But… Your jerk!"

"Oh I'm not a jerk, honey, I'm just a businessman trying to better himself. And if a little revenge can get me there faster, then why not go for it?"

"In case you didn't realise, that _make_ you a jerk, and a greedy one at that. Seriously, first you want the Shack and now this?"

"Oh I still want the Shack. And I'll get it too. But I'm working on that for another time."

"So what happens to me? You can't keep me here!"

"Oh I know I can't, I've got a reputation to keep, remember? But I don't deny that your idiot brother and that little sprite will be along in the next twenty-four hours looking for you. And then, she'll be mine and you… Well Mabel you know you're always welcome to stay and be my queen."

"In your dreams!"

"So feisty, I like that." He sniggered, "Now, all we have to do is play the waiting game, my little trap. Fancy some sarsaparilla while we wait?"

* * *

Dipper shoved the front door of the Shack open that evening, cheeks red from rage as he stormed up to his room, closely followed by Roxie at her human size. They'd been looking for Mabel all day and now the sun was setting, and still no results. They'd gone to the police, but they were half too busy with playing paper football and half passing it off as some kids prank. They couldn't believe their ears. What part of a child gone missing did they not understand the seriousness of? Of course they'd taken matters into their own hands and searched the entire town for her, not to mention forcing through the woodland, searching all nooks and crannies desperately for a assign. But there was none.

Now here they were, back in the twins' bedroom. Dipper was pacing the floor, wracking his brain for any idea of where his sister could be. How could he have just slept through her being taken like that? He hated himself for it. He'd never forgive himself if anything happened to her. And he'd never let whoever took her forget it. Roxie leant against the wall, guilt tearing at her insides. She hated seeing him like this, and the lack of knowledge what was happening to Mabel was horrid. She pushed her hair back and dared to speak.

"I told you it was a bad idea bringing me back here. I told you it was dangerous."

He snapped his head up to look at her coldly, "I don't remember you saying that kidnapping was part of the equation."

"Dippy, I'm sorry. I warned you, didn't I? We'll find her tomorrow, I promise."

"How can you promise that?"

"I'm trying to make you feel better!"

"Well guess what! It's not working! I'm going out again. I'm finding her this time."

"Dippy, it's getting dark. If we couldn't find her in the daylight then night isn't going to help."

"What _would_ have helped would be you flying a little higher and scanning the area."

He was dancing on a thin line with that one, "Flying is _exhausting_! I flew as high as I could and I still couldn't see anything. Don't you dare try and turn this around on me!"

"You've already admitted that it was your fault!"

"I admitted that her being taken was my fault! I did _not_ say that us not finding her was my fault too." Roxie took a breath, "We'll find her tomorrow, Dippy, it's not the end of the world."

"Stop calling me that! You don't get it Roxie!" he snapped, "It's tough here for me here, and this isn't exactly helping…"

Roxie watched as he rubbed his arm awkwardly, lowering his eyes solemnly as the worry and frustration built. She did get it. He felt alone, and helpless. Without his sister he didn't feel like a whole person, part of an internal puzzle missing. She'd never felt it with her siblings, but she didn't have to have felt it in the past to see it right before her. And guilt squirmed in her stomach. It was true, she hadn't been helping by shouting back at him. But it was just the way she was, when she was angry, she just let it out. He was angry, and scared. It was causing a fight in him. Maybe… maybe he needed to do the same as her, just let it out instead of being so strict with himself. Yeah, she nodded, maybe he just needs to let it out. Maybe a fight is what he needs.

Suddenly, her arms shot out and she shoved him. He blinked in surprise, "Huh? What was that for?"

"Fight me." She ordered, taking a determined step forward.

He blinked again, "What?"

In answer, he received another harsh shove, "I said, fight me." Roxie snatched his cap and put it on before glaring at him, "You say I'm to blame, and I know this is my fault. So give me your best shot."

He took a step back, palms raised in defence, "Roxie I'm not fighting y-OW!"

Roxie cut him off by stamping on his foot, "What's wrong? Too scared to fight a girl! It's my fault, remember! Mabel's gone because of me! Fight me, wimp!"

Another shove, and another until he was against the wall. His jaw stiffened as he took every single blow. What was up with her? This was crazy! Back pressed against the wall she glared at him to the point where he could practically see fire in her eyes. His eye twitched, what was going on? With Mabel gone, the creature still out there, no one listening to a single thing he said, constantly being the joke… and now this! He couldn't take it. And just then, something snapped.

Just as Roxie was about to shove him again, his hands darted up and grabbed her wrists. He forced her backwards, but she resisted. She twisted him so that he stumbled, but at the last minute he grabbed her sleeve and pulled her down with him. He struggled as she tried to pin him. Dipper bared his teeth in anger and shoved her away, pouncing again and grabbing her hair as she tugged painfully at his ear. The two rolled on the wooden surface, shouting insults at one another, blaming one another for the past and for things that they both weren't even part of. Dipper felt a graze on his back from being dragged across the floor at some point where Roxie felt a bruise forming on her shoulder. Finally, Dipper lurched forward, grabbing her shoulders and pinning her on her back on the floor, sitting on her legs to keep her still.

The two glared at one another, red faced from effort and breathing heavily from anger. They stayed like that for a moment, catching their breath, before Roxie dared to crack a smile. That smile turned to a friendly and triumphant smirk, and then she sniggered. Dipper tilted his head in confusion at the sound, but took a look at how weird that fight must have looked. And he couldn't help it, he gave out a laugh too, lessening his grip a little. Sensing an opportunity, Roxie snaked her hands from his grip and poked his sides, making his laugh a little louder. In revenge, he darted out to tickle at her neck, making her flinch with a shriek before shoving him more gently this time and returning the gesture. Before long, the struggle began again, but instead of harsh painful shoves and kicks, there were cries of childish laughter from light tickles and prods.

Dipper backed up finally, scooting back to lean against the frame of his bed panting for breath while trying to calm his chuckles. Roxie sensed her job was done and shifted over to the other side of the room and lean against Mabel's bed and blew some hair from her face, "Sometimes just letting your anger out helps. Feeling better?"

He looked up and brought a knee up so that he could rest him arm atop it, "Actually… yeah, a little."

"Good." She stated, rubbing her head and giving a look of pretence warning, "But pull my hair again and you're dead."

"Same if you ever kick me like that again."

"Like you'd ever really be ever to beat me, I let you win."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"No way."

"Want a rematch?"

Dipper gave a half-smile and wiped the sweat from his brow, "I'll give you a chance to heal first."

She rolled her eyes and pretended to swoon, "Oh Dippy, you big strong guy, you can beat up a girl; oh wait…"

"Ha!" he pointed, "So you admit I beat you!"

"Shut up, Dippy." She smirked, tossing his cap back at him.

They fell into a comfortable silence for a while before Dipper broke it, "Hey, uh, thanks…"

"For what?" she asked, deliberately making him say it.

"For… helping me look for Mabel, and for not letting me stay angry. It's not your fault Mabel was taken, you know. I… I have a feeling this was planned somehow."

"Don't mention it." She nodded matter-of-factly and got to her feet, sitting on the edge of the desk before using the crustal around her neck to bath herself in a pink light, shrinking down so that she could stand at pencil-size, "On that note, I'm hitting the hay. We're going to need our energy. Mabel's going to be bouncing off the walls when we get her home."

Dipper nodded in agreement, grateful for the needed optimism and vanished into the closet to change into his pyjamas, on his return, he found Roxie waiting for his cap to use as a bed. He scratched his neck nervously, "You know, you could, uh, use Mabel's bed tonight." He shrugged dejectedly, "It's not like she's using it tonight…"

"I would… But she's made it up so neat and tidy, I don't want it to be messed up for when she comes home tomorrow." She shrugged as Dipper gave her a grateful smile, laying his cap beside her before getting into his own bed. He was then surprised by a genuine look of seriousness from her, "We're going to find her, okay? You know that, right? I mean heck, I wouldn't be surprised if she got out all on her own and met us half-way. She's a fighter, like you."

He lowered his eyes for a moment, deflated, but he forced himself to regain eye-contact. He gave a nod of determination, "Yeah. Yeah she is!" he grinned, "She'll be back in no time."

"There you go." Roxie nodded, turning on her heel and clambering into the cap, making herself comfortable, "Night, Dippy."

In answer, he simply rolled his eyes and sniggered before laying his head down on the pillow and eyes closed. Yeah, he thought to himself, Yeah she's right, everything will work out just fine.

**A/N:**

**Gfimrmth ziv girxpb**

**For the record, a Bugbear is an actual mythical creature, look it up XD Did I trick ya with who was taken? Maybe...?**

**Also, that tactic of forcing a fight out of someone actually works. It gets rid of unnecessary ranger and no one really gets hurt because the person knows that they shouldn't hurt the person helping them. It's a weird one, but it's a real thing, most people know it as the one where people dress in sumo suits and whack each other. But with lack of suits, Dipper and Roxie just lightly brawled instead. XD**


	8. Tricks and Turns

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Turnings are ticky**

"Hey! Dippy! Dippy look at this!"

Dipper grumbled as he peeked his eyes open. The morning sun stung his eyes and he rolled onto his back, rubbing the soreness away. Roxie's voice still urged him on and he huffed, the memories of the previous day coming back to him bitterly. Finally braving his eyes open, Dipper pushed himself up and ran a hand through his hair, looking around for his tiny companion. He expected her to be perched on the desk or even back to her human size, but instead he was surprised to find her in mid-air dead centre of the room, flying in a constant circle, getting ever so slightly faster with each cycle. She wore a grin on her face, laughing occasionally as she turned, wings flickering madly.

"Uh… what are you doing?"

"Look!" she urged, not stopping her circles, "I can make a left turn! Finally!"

Oh, he understood. She was practicing. Her flying hadn't been strong up to this point with only being able to travel upwards, down and forwards. It seems she was finally getting the hang of directional turns. Really well in fact, it was actually starting to make him dizzy. Sure he was happy for her, but they didn't really have time for this. Mabel was still out there, and he planned on finding her today. Just as was promised.

"Yeah great job, but do you mind stopping for now? We've gotta go find Mabel, remember?" he said, climbing out of bed hurriedly.

"Alright, give me a minute." She muttered in deep concentration.

Choosing to be kind and give her more than a minute, Dipper shrugged and exited the room so that he could get changed in the bathroom. Upon his return, he was about to cross the room to collect his cap from the desk, but found that the path was blocked at the small figure was still circling the room. Roxie noted his presence, and pouted irritably. He waited, arms folded and tapping his foot, and yet she still didn't stop flying in circles.

After about thirty seconds of this, he suddenly realised with a smug sneer what was taking her so long, "You don't know how to stop turning left, do you?"

"I'll figure it out!" Roxie snapped, voice shaky from fatigue.

He sniggered, "Need a hand?"

"No." she insisted stubbornly, not wanting to admit that she was starting to get some serious muscle cramps in her back as well as her heard starting to spin, "I said I'll figure it out and I will-Hey!"

While she had been stewing in her stubbornness, Dipper had stepped forward, lifting a hand to block her path and hopefully give her the hesitation needed in order to stop and lower herself to the ground. However, instead she face-planted harshly right into his palm and had the air knocked out of her. She pushed herself away from him and fell a few inches before landing in his cupped hand. He arched an eyebrow expectantly down at her. Roxie sat up in his palm and folded her arms, drumming her fingers irritably.

"How am I supposed to learn if you're going to interrupt me?"

"How are we going to find Mabel if I don't?" he challenged, "Excellent face-palm by the way."

"Ha." She said dryly, "You're not funny. Now put me down so I can use this thing." she ordered, playing with the crystal around her neck.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe turning right will help?" he smirked, crouching down and tilting his hand so that she could slide to the ground.

"You're still not funny." She muttered, holding up the crystal so bathe herself in light, wincing slightly as she grew and yet the wings stayed in their miniscule form. She shrugged into her jacket and looked at him expectantly, "Well, ready to play hero?"

He nodded, scooping up his cap and adjusting it firmly to his head, "You bet."

* * *

Mabel shifted, her neck stiff and arms sore. She was still in Gideon's garage, hands tied behind the chair she was placed in. Her arms ached from struggling, but she wasn't giving up. Apart from falling asleep for a short time in the early hours of the morning, she hadn't stopped all night. And no amount of yelling for help was any good. She'd figured that out when her throat had started to sting. What were these walls made of anyway? Steal? They must be thick as Gideon's head, Mabel thought. No, actually that's mean on the walls.

She'd had enough of this, as anyone would. In fact, just to pass the time Mabel had taken to kicking out her legs in order to swing the chair forwards onto it's front legs, and then thump back so that it was forced backwards to the rear legs. To be honest, she found it a little entertainment in the swaying, the thud causing enough of an echo to give her a little hope that someone outside could hear it and might come to find her. Dipper was taking a long time, she admitted to herself, but then again he didn't know where she was, so she forgave him.

"Whoa-OW!"

In her thoughts, she had lost her balance. The chair toppled backwards too far and crashed to the floor. There was an ear-splitting sound of crunching wood and Mabel was thrown rolling to the side. Stars in her eyes, Mabel gathered her senses and looked around, managing to sit herself up. The back of the chair had snapped away from the seat completely and was still pinned to her back where her arms were tied behind her. The seat and legs lay on the ground, battered and looking much like a stool. Mabel in her semi-freedom, stood up and wriggled until the wood slipped away to the floor, leaving only the rope around her wrists. She huffed, but was thankful for the freedom she'd gained so far.

"Please be stupid just one more time and leave the door unlocked." She begged, rushing to the exit and standing with her back to it in order to grab the handle. After some time, she finally managed to turn the handle with a satisfying click, "Yes! Mabel, to freedom!"

* * *

Roxie wondered through the undergrowth, pushing branches aside and wished that her guilt was just as easy to get rid of. After a sleepless night of thinking and self-blaming, she figured it out. Gideon. Who else? He had to be behind this some how. She looked at the facts: Gideon had hinted that he knew she was back; he wanted revenge because she wasn't only an ally of the twins but also because she'd escaped him before; that thing was following them because it could sense her; and now Gideon was using Mabel as a bargaining token. She didn't understand why Gideon was going through this much trouble, but she figured that finding out alone would be a heck of a lot better than waiting around and having Dipper get taken too.

And so, she had come up with an idea. One that was riddled with faults and idiocy, but it was the only thing she could think of that would stop the twins getting in danger because of her. But of course, none of this had passed her lips. She had told her fellow searcher nothing. It was for the best. He wanted his sister back, and she'd promised that she'd get her for him.

"Where'd you think we should look?" Dipper asked.

Roxie was snapped from her thoughts, "Uh…" She needed to get him to leave, she needed to get away in order for this to work.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. What about you?"

"Not bad, but can we keep moving? Mabel will kill us if we don't find her soon."

"No kidding. You know…" she swallowed, trying to hide her anxiousness, "…maybe I should fly up there, to get a better view?"

He followed her gaze upwards, "You're not tired from this morning?"

"I'll be fine, just… Keep heading in that direction, so I know where to find you, okay?" she asked, already using the gem to minimise herself, the wings standing out prominently, "It's… It's going to be alright…" she added more to herself than him.

Dipper watched, still not used to this transformation, but finding it fascinating all the same. He appreciated her help, and felt kind of guilty about arguing with her the night before, but figured that it was in the past. The main focus now was finding Mabel and getting her home. Before he could ask Roxie if she was sure (don't get him wrong he knew it was going to be a big help but there was something off about her that day) she'd already shot upwards like a bullet and out of sight. So far out of sight, that he didn't see her turn left. And he didn't see her dart away, heading out of the forest. Instead, he carried on going right. The distance between them growing with each step, each second…

* * *

Roxie refused to let her frustration get the better of her as she found herself closing in on Gideon Gleeful's home. It was for the best. Right? She didn't know anymore, but it seemed like the best choice. She looked up at the house and directed herself up to the nearest open window. She presumed that it was Gideon's bedroom that she had entered, the air was clogged with the sting of hairspray as she creeped inside and landed on the desk. Her wings folded awkwardly behind her. She still wasn't quite used to this.

Now what, she thought to herself. She didn't know if she should wait until the boy came back, or go in search for herself. To be honest, she didn't get a choice. Not one minute after arriving, the door slammed open. The force of which made the room tremble, knocking Roxie off balance and onto her rear. Gideon looked furious, cheeks red and breathing heavily. She was about to lift the crystal around her neck up to the light, wanting to be at a proper height if she was going to face him. But no sooner had she lifted her hand to her pendant, those beady eyes swarmed on her, and she felt that she couldn't move.

"Well well…" he sneered, looking somewhat happier, stepping forward to loom over her, "What do we have here…?"

"Where's Mabel?" she demanded, craning her neck to keep eye contact.

"Mabel?" he repeated, a strange glint in his eye, "Oh my deal Mabel, yes…" he sniggered, "I'll get to her in a minute, the real question is what are you going here, Manx?"

Roxie stood her ground, "You know what I'm doing here! Now let Mabel go!"

"Ah-ah-ah… Not so fast." He smirked, "I'm not finished with you yet. I have an offer for you."

"And what's that exactly?"

"You need answers… and I need a new attraction."

"Forget it!" she snapped, expecting to hear something like that, but the sound just made her skin crawl, "Now let Mabel go!"

"Don't you want to know what you are? If there's more of you? What you can do?" he taunted in his sickly sweet voice.

"I know what I can do, and that's turn right around and find her myself."

"And where would that leave you? Still clueless. You want your friends safe, don't you? Why not get both? Mabel free, Dipper at home, and you get your answers. And I get my attraction that'll make my name so big I'll… Well, it's a win-win."

"But I'll be a prisoner!"

"Well if you want to be selfish, go right ahead… Your friends are waiting…" he sniggered.

Roxie didn't trust him, who would? But he had a point, she'd come there to get Mabel free and that's what she was going to do. But the idea of being stuck here was torment. But she'd get answers… She both hated and feared herself at that moment. But it was something she had to do. It was… for the best.

"Fine." She snapped, "But I want to see you letting Mabel leave first."

The air was knocked out of her as his fat fists clenched around her body. It happened so quickly that she didn't have time to react. Before she knew it, the boy had brought her up to eye-level, smirking darkly, "Such a silly girl, you should really get your facts right before making deals like this."

"What are you talking about? Let me go! Where's Mabel?"

"I honestly have no idea, darlin', probably back to that death-trap she calls a home."

"What?" Roxie breathed in exasperation, "But you said that-"

"Oh I admit that I had dear Mabel here earlier, I didn't mention anything about her being here now, did I?"

"You… you said if I stayed here, then you'd let her go!"

"And I did let her go." He muttered irritably, "Not intentionally. The little traitor escaped not long before you dropped so nicely on my doorstep."

"You tricked me!" she spat, struggling to get free of his grasp.

"And you made a deal which technically I'm honouring, missy, you should do the same." He warned, loosening his grip enough so that he could change the way he was holding her, choosing now to dangle her by her wings mockingly, pinching them a little harder than necessary between his finger and thumb, "Now, let's find you a lil' place to stay shall we?"

Roxie winced in pain as the frail limbs pulled at the skin around her spine, the tips of her wings numbing from the intense pressure, "You're hurting me!"

"Oh why I'm sorry there, sugar." He said in an ironic tone, "Let me put you down somewhere more comfortable."

He retrieved a small wooden box, not unlike a jewellery box that she'd seen many times before. It was plain and simple, with a metal sliding bolt to fasten it shut. Roxie squirmed and kicked in panic as he flipped open the lid, sniggering at her expense. With a crafty wink, he dropped her inside, slamming the lid shut with an echoing thud. The floor shifted as he passed the item over in his hands, the gritty sound of metal scraping against wood signalled that he'd locked the bolt. She jolted as he put the box down harshly, leaving her to pound her fists uselessly against the walls.

She couldn't see anything. There was just endless darkness. All she had to do was open her arms half-wide and she could feel all four walls constricting her. She could only crouch before bumping her head on the roof. Panic started to bubble in her throat. No light, no air, nothing. It was endless. It was going to consume her. No, she ordered herself, no tears or screaming. You'll only give him what he wants. But it's so dark. Were her eyes even open, she couldn't tell.

"Let me out, Gideon!" she ordered, trying to keep her voice steady but failing.

"Deal's a deal." He mused, tapping the lid of the box tauntingly.

"I'll get out of here you know! I've still got the crystal!" she cried triumphantly from the darkness, hand clenching around her pendant, "I'll be out of here in minutes!"

His sneer was almost burning right through the wood, "Oh go ahead and keep that little trinket, darlin'; it's not like there's any light in there to use it anyways."

The realisation was like a slap in the face. In order for the beams of blue or pink to work it's magic, light would first need to be passed through it. There was no light in here. It was useless now. Roxie felt her face pale in horror, her fists smacking desperately against the walls that barely let her stretch her arms out fully either in front of her or to the side. It may as well have been a coffin. Her throat became tight in panic. Breathing uneven and raspy.

"I'll se ya around lil' missy, I've got some work to do."

"Gideon! Gideon let me out!" she yelled, "Let me out!"

No use. All was silent. She was alone. Confined, restricted, trapped. And all in the mocking silence.

**A/N:**

**Yzxp gl gsv gvmg**

**Sorry it was a bit rushed! XD**


	9. Down and Out of Luck

**A/N:**

**Code Answer: Back to the Tent**

**So when we left off, Roxie had been tricked and Mabel was free. But where does this lead? Read on and Review! **

Dipper turned around for what seemed like the millionth time, but once again only seeing more branches and forestry. Roxie had been up in the air for a long time, shouldn't she be complaining about being tired out by now or something? He scanned the skies, but couldn't see or hear any sign of her. Where had she gone?

"Roxie?" he called once more, but with no reply.

What he did hear, however, was the rhythmic thudding of footsteps as they crashed through the undergrowth. Something big, and fast. Instantly Dipper jolted into instinct and ran. Eye wide and teeth gritted, he had to keep one hand firmly on his hat to stop it flying off. He knew that if there was trouble Roxie would stay up wherever she was. It was up to him now to keep hidden. If it was that creature stalking him again, he wasn't sure if he wanted to face it and finally find out what it was, or keep running and pretend that he could avoid it. For now, running seemed like a good option.

"Dipper!" a voice called out suddenly, "It's me!"

Dipper skidded to a halt at the familiar voice. But no sooner had he turned around to face the follower that it collided head on into him, knocking the wind out of them and sending the pair rolling to the floor. Dipper pushed himself up, scanning his surroundings and trying to regain his breathing. Finally he found a human form lying in the grass, a mop of brunet hair thrown over her face and hands tied behind her back. There was no mistaking that sweater, he'd spent three sleepless nights listening to the clicking of knitting needles as it was being made.

"M-Mabel?"

"Hey brother!" she beamed, trying to blow her hair from her face.

He stooped down to hoist her to her feet, holding her shoulders to both keep her steady and to check that she was okay, "What're you doing here? Me and Roxie have been looking everywhere for you!" he suddenly did a double take at her restraints, "What the heck happened to you?"

Mabel scowled as she turned around so that her brother could untie her, "Gideon and his freaky pet happened! Roxie was right, he was looking for her! But he didn't know she was with us when he got that thing of his to kidnap me."

"Wait, his pet?" he exclaimed, straining his fingers to loosen the rope.

"A Bearbug or Bugggyboo or something…"

"A Bugbear?"

"That's the one!"

"I think I remember something like that in the journal, but it didn't do into much detail… How can he have one of _those_ as a pet?"

"Pet, minion, I don't know!"

"But why did he take you?"

"Because he was told to. Gideon didn't know that Roxie was in the Shack, so when he gave that thing orders to get me, it didn't think to collect extra people." She explained, hurriedly, "Gideon wanted to use me as bait or something and get you to trade me for Roxie. The big doofus didn't even lock the door when he tied me up…"

"When I get my hands on him I'm gonna-There you go!" he announced, the ropes falling to the ground, "Hold up! Trade? As in… Oh man I get it now! He wants her crystal! With that he'll try and take over the Shack again!"

"No-duh!" she rolled her eyes, rubbing at the sore marks at her hands, "Where is Roxie anyway? I thought she'd be with you."

"She was a minute ago. But she took off-"

Mabel sniggered, "Take off. Cuz of the wings."

He continued, "She took off to get a better view from higher up. Now she's gone missing!"

"You don't think she figured out where I was, do you? And she's gone to save me?"

Dipper was about to shake his head, but something stopped him. Roxie hadn't been acting herself at all. The cocky attitude that he sometimes saw as arrogance had been replaced by a jittery and unusually quiet nature. Looking back, he should have noticed, or at least been more suspicious. Come to think of it, she'd been pretty eager to get away earlier. Wait, she _hated_ shrinking down, she would rather climb the trees on her own than use the crystal. Why the sudden submission? It didn't make sense. But then again, after hearing Mabel's suggestion, it made perfect sense.

"We have to find her before she gets caught!" he insisted.

Mabel nodded in agreement, but couldn't help the sigh, "This is taking our track record of luck to a whole new level…"

"No kidding. Why would she just go off without telling me?"

"Maybe she didn't want you slowing her down."

"Hey!"

"What, I'm trying to think like her, okay?" she smiled jokingly, "But then again, she kept saying that it wasn't a good thing her being around us. I guess she didn't want you getting into trouble too." Her eyes brightened knowingly, "Ooooh she likes you!"

Dipper jolted, "What? No, no way! Mabel there's a difference between keeping someone out of Gideon's way and _liking_ someone."

"Yeah, but not this time."

"Is this really the time to be making up stories?"

"You're blushing!"

"Mabel, come on!" he huffed, grabbing his sister's sleeve and tugging her behind him as he rushed through the trees. He was right, this wasn't the time, but that didn't mean that he wasn't thinking about it. Just a little.

* * *

Their first bet was to back track all the way to Gideon's house, thinking that that there was a chance they could catch up to Roxie before she did something stupid. Well, stupider anyway. But upon sneaking around to the back of the house, they found that the garage door was not only open, but the content was empty. No Gideon. No Roxie. Nothing but garage appliances and a large space for the car to be parked. Even the remains of the splintered chair had been cleared away. If anyone had been doing anything in here, they were long gone by now. Or in Mabel's case, recently returned.

The twins had only just opened their mouths to ask the shared question of where everyone was before the sound of a door slamming not far from them. After exchanging mutual nods of silent agreement, the pair cautiously edged their way closer to the front of the house. They were thankful for the pristinely cut bushes that they had to crouch to hide behind. The sound of footsteps against a slab pathway echoed slightly. The twins dared to peek out ever so carefully. And just in time too, for they just managed to catch a glimpse of the platinum blond twerp himself, stepping into the back seat of his fathers car. Holding a small wooden box under his arm.

"Uh, son, are ya sure you need to go to the Tent today? You don't have a performance till next week and-"

"Don't question me, old man!" Gideon snapped at his parent, slamming the door behind him and speeding off down the road.

The Tent? The twins didn't even have to look at one another to know that they were thinking the same thing. Normally, if someone was in a rush and carrying a strange box, people wouldn't think too much on it. But from experience, and since it was Gideon they were referring to, they knew better. Choosing to take the short-cut through the woods they now seemed to know like the back of their hands, they held their next destination firmly in their minds. The Tent of Telepathy.

* * *

"I am so tired of running around." Mabel panted as she collapsed against the side of the large tent.

"Shh, listen!" Dipper hushed, pressing his ear against the fabric and trying to make sense of the words inside over the pounding of his blood in his ears. He was exhausted too, but they couldn't afford to waste time resting up when something important was happening inside.

"Alright, Sir Bossy of Dip-boss." Mabel pouted, copying her brother's stance. Yes she understood the urgency of the situation and wanted to get answers too, but that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to complain a little. In fact she kind of earned it.

They couldn't make out much due to the density of the fabric, so they were forced to ever so carefully lift the base of the tent and crawl underneath, army style until they were inside. Luckily, Gideon hadn't rearranged the layout of the backroom much since the last time they were there. Besides the cleaning up of the shattered gems and such of course. They ducked down behind one of the desks, daring to push their luck to peer over the top of the woodwork.

Luckily, Gideon had his back to them, and was alone. Or rather, he looked as though he was alone. His pudgy form leaned over the box he had been carrying earlier. Cruelly, he forced the lid open, "Well hello again, sunshine."

The voice that replied was not only small, it was weak and battered as if fighting for the energy to even get the words out let alone voice them so sternly, "Let me go, Gideon!"

"Ah-ah, don't take that tone with me, darlin'. I just need one little thing from ya and then I'll leave ya alone."

"Don't you touch me you-agh!"

Gideon prodded his thumb and forefinger into the box, pinching harshly as something inside and pulling upwards. From their hiding place, the twins could just make out the shape of a crystal. He's torn it right from the pendant around her neck. Dipper was about to stand, but was stopped by his sisters hand forcing him back into hiding, giving him a scowl and silently telling him to wait a little longer.

"Give that back! I need it!"

"You don't need it anymore, sugar." Gideon cooed, "I however will find it much more useful when I take it back to the little Shack later…"

"Leave them alone! You said you'd-"

"I believe I said I'd let them go. Not my fault they weren't mine to start with." He sniggered, "Get some rest, lil'un, you look ready to pass out."

The sound of a latch closing harshly was followed by the scraping of wood as the boy pushed the box away from him, ignoring the desperate pleas that echoed inside. Slowly, horribly, they faded into nothing. Mabel nudged Dipper, pointing for him to start edging their way around the desk. Dipper nodded, registering the plan. If they were careful enough, then there was a chance that they could jump him from behind and get the gem from him. They were so close, just a few more steps and they'd have him.

Gideon held it up to the light admiringly, unaware of the ambush that was being planned behind him. He hummed to himself, a merry little tune of triumph. But it was cut short as he angled the crystal a little to the side, enjoying its sheen. Suddenly, a beam of pink light burst forward. The boy ducked with a loud yelp, the light shooting past his ear and fitting something behind him. He took a moment to recover from the shock before chuckling nervously, pocketing the gem and pushing his hair back into place as he stood.

"That was a close one." He muttered, exiting the room and slamming the door behind them, "I gotta be more careful."

However, unlike Gideon's smugness, the twins were feeling somewhat deflated. Or rather, they looked deflated. Surrounded by gargantuan furniture, the carpet covering their shoes and ankles, they blinked the spots from their eyes that a blinding light had left behind. Upon gaining their eyesight once more, they looked around and half gasped in alarm, half huffed in irritation.

"The crystal hit us didn't it?" Dipper groaned.

"Yep…" Mabel replied solemnly.

"We're shrunk, aren't we?"

"Yep…"

"Our luck just did the same thing did it…?"

"Yup…"

**A/N:**

lmob gsivv xszkgvih ovug

Don't forget to review. Even a 'little' one, lol for the recurring shrinking puns XD


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